1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to fluid flow systems and more particularly to fluid sticks for use in the semiconductor industry.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sophisticated fluid flow systems are required to supply fluid to sensitive processes, such as many semiconductor processes. Such processes are typically sensitive to contamination and fluid dosage and may require that very small amounts of fluid are accurately metered. Due to the problems associated with contamination of such processes, fluid flow systems in semiconductor processes are typically housed in clean rooms. As a result, space is at a premium and there has been an effort to reduce the size of such fluid flow systems. Furthermore, the gases required in semiconductor processes, such as those used in silicon chip fabrication, are often highly corrosive, necessitating careful control and monitoring.
Systems for supplying process fluid to semiconductor processes typically include one or more connections of flow components, such as mass flow controllers, filters, pressure transducers, valves and the like. Such systems are typically arranged with individual flow components being fluidly connected to one another in a series. Such flow components in series are typically mounted to a common surface in a linear arrangement or row of flow components, and the row of flow components is commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cgas stick.xe2x80x9d However, it should be appreciated that many gas sticks handle fluids other than gases, such as liquids, and that phase changes may occur within the gas stick.
At one time flow components were fluidly connected using tubing and couplings. However, because of the generally inflexible nature of the tubing required to handle the fluids, to remove one flow component, other flow components also had to be disrupted. One attempt to solve this problem is to include flow paths within a body of a support piece to which flow components are mounted, allowing each flow component to be simply bolted and unbolted from the support piece to place them in fluid connection with other flow components. Such a fluid system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,463, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Modular fluid flow systems have also been introduced, in which a series of interlocking pieces having flow paths therein form the support structure for the flow components, allowing greater flexibility in the mounting surface. An example of a modular fluid flow system is described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/229,722, filed Jan. 13, 1999, entitled Manifold System of Removable Components for Distribution of Fluids, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Like previous systems, modular fluid flow systems are generally arranged linearly in a single plane.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a fluid flow system is provided in which multiple fluid flow components may share a common footprint.
In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a fluid stick adapted to be mounted to a mounting surface. The fluid stick includes a first flow component positioned in the fluid stick and a second flow component positioned in the fluid stick between the first flow component and the mounting surface and in fluid connection with the first flow component.
In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a fluid stick adapted to be mounted to a mounting surface. The fluid stick includes a mass flow controller positioned in the fluid stick and a fluid filter positioned in the fluid stick between the mass flow controller and the mounting surface and in fluid connection with the mass flow controller.
In another embodiment, the present invention is directed to a fluid stick including an inlet, an outlet, and a plurality of flow components generally arranged along a first axis between the inlet and the outlet and fluidly connected in series. A first and a second flow component of the plurality of flow components are arranged along a second axis generally transverse to the first axis.